Papakura Week 5

Kia ora everyone!

This has been a good week, we were able to meet a lot of new people and kind of get a basis going with a lot of them. We have been working really closely with one of the young children we have been teaching named Cortez and he has been set to be baptized this upcoming Saturday. His parents have been working hard to make a change and come back into the gospel especially to help their son grow spiritually. He's a bright young kid but really shy and soft spoken. He's had all the lessons and he knows and understands the importance of the gospel. Other than that we had zone conference and had a few really good trainings.

This last week, an Elder was trying to save kilometers in his car so he and his companion rode bikes pretty far. They were on their way back when a man ran a red light and hit him going pretty fast. He went flying and so did the bike. They called us almost immediately after and we went immediately to the scene. The Elder was almost completely fine, he was pretty bloody because he smashed the windshield and he got cut up on all the glass and he said he bruised his leg pretty bad as well as badly spraining his wrist. But one of the first things he said as we walked over was that he felt really blessed and knew that God was looking out for his missionaries. It gave me hope knowing that Heavenly Father truly looks out for his missionaries. Plus it was pretty clear that the car was much worse off than the Elder. The windshield and hood was smashed! 

It all was a little hectic but it was still a good week. I hope everyones week goes well! 

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 4

Kia ora everyone! 

This week was a good week, some good things were accomplished this week and we are ready to get heaps done this upcoming week. Last week we did MTC exchanges and I had the opportunity to take someone from the islands of Kiribati and show him a bit of proselyting. He was a good Elder with a strong testimony and I feel like I learned a lot from his example. Other than that, we only had a few things going on here and there but towards the end of the week we got to attend a baptism and spend the day with our Assistants. I always enjoy exchanges with them and gaining their good insights. Today, there was a big change as I got to video my family and speak with them today. It was a little weird since it wasn't on a special day but it was good to have another catch up with them. This upcoming week we have zone conference which should be really good, I'm just worried we'll get picked on for a role play or something big in front of everyone. But either way, all is well. Hope everyone has a great week!

Arohanui, 

Elder Green 

Papakura Week 3

Hello Family!

Things are well over here. Papakura work is a bit better than Weymouth work but not near as great as was the Te Awamutu work. But I think it could get there. I'm hoping to improve and work with the area a lot. So far so good. I'm just a bit worried because my companion is most likely moving to a new area in a few weeks so I'll have to take my time to learn it and work it well. 

This week was really good! We had a few things going on including having someone from the missionary department come and do an MLC with us this last week. He went in depth on a few different ways of teaching and changing the dynamic of teaching a few different principles. It was pretty cool, but it felt like I went back to the MTC trying to learn how to teach a certain way. And the MLC lasted about 7 hours of just him talking at us while we tried to keep our focus and write notes. It was interesting though. Afterward, the next day, he needed to come to Auckland so because we were coming back up anyway, we were asked to give him a ride up so we got the opportunity to have a more personal conversation with him and better understand what he taught. The rest of the week was just basic things and handling different zone business. Nothing super spectacular. I hope everyone has a great week! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Papakura Week 2

I have considered on multiple occasions actually looking at the day countdown but I can't bring myself to it. The time is flying too fast.. It doesn't help transitioning from a young missionary to a seemingly old missionary. In the last 6 months the entire mission has completely reshuffled. I'm ages away from going home but my intake is now seen as the second oldest essentially. I kind of don't like it.. Especially as a zone leader, we kind of get put up in a pedestal and we really shouldn't at all. We're just the same as the other missionaries. It puts a lot of pressure on us to really be in top of things and being a proper example to the newer generation of missionaries. But yeah.. I'm getting a little scared thinking about taking on life. It seems like on a mission a lot of walls are put up protecting us from the world but after I'm released those walls will come down. It scares me quite a bit.. But it's good, I'll take those challenges on when I come to them. 

Well I hope the Rams win! Never seen them at the Superbowl before. Sounds like Caleb is getting hasty. I hope work doesn't hate you for having two sons that worked there for a short time just to quit. Sahry.... 

I live at XX Grove St in Papakura. I looked for the house we were in but I wasn't willing to go down the long driveways. It is in our area though so we did use to be in Papakura 1st ward eons ago. A bit strange.. But yeah we would be keen to see Nanny. Transfers are in about 4 weeks but either way I'm 99.9% sure I will still be here. My companion Elder Thompson is the man. He's the first Arizona companion I've had and him and I get along really well. He's a very good leader and missionary. He's been here for a while though so I feel like he'll probably be gone after this transfer. But it's good. So far my experience in South Auckland again was similar to the first time I was here but I feel like this week we're going to change that. We've got a lot planned we only hope things go as planned. 

This last week we tried to get a few visits in to a family I've recently met that the missionaries have been visiting for a while. They're very kind and very Maori. The father has the strongest accent I've heard in a long time. The son is not a member and the parents are returning less actives. We also had quite a few errands to run here and there but things are looking good for this upcoming week. I hope you all have a great week this week! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Papakura Week 1 - Transfers . . . Back to the city!

Yes I am in my new area and I have been sent back to the city. There are a lot of pros and cons but it'll be good. I hope to do a lot better and enjoy it a lot more than I did last time. I think it's good because I know this whole zone backwards and forwards already. At least geographically. I think that it will be good to being here as a zone leader because it'll keep me really busy with errands and the work here. I think Papakura 1st ward is a little better off with the work than Weymouth ward was. A lot bigger boundaries too. My worry is just the work here. And I was really hoping I'd never have to serve in the city again. But it's all good, I'll manage. I'm needed here for a reason so I'll just keep my eye out for that reason. I'll have to look around and see if I can find the house and if anyone remembers them. There are a few members here that are a part of the furniture in the ward. The chapel is really old and pretty much completely wooden. The place is actually really cool, seems kind of rustic. But yeah the Church was a lot bigger back in the day it seems. Most the membership in NZ is less active. I was talking to a guy in my last area who used to operate the buildings along the East Coast for the Church office and he told me most the full size chapels out that way have been released or knocked over. The one I got baptized in they knocked over the steeple but I think the building still stands. They have built a couple brand new chapels though. There's a super flash one in Temple View. Like nicer than any chapel I've even seen in America. It's bigger than any back home too. But yeah anyway. Things are good. 

Arohanui,
Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 18

Hey everyone! 

My week was really good. I had a lot going on and some good work done. We now have about 4 people that we are teaching and progressing. That doesn't sound like a lot but here in this very developed country with people who don't need religion, we take what we can get! Sadly my time in Te Awamutu is most likely coming to a close and I won't be able to see these people, who are very close to baptism, be baptized. I do know that the work will continue on without me though and that much gives me peace. We've been running quite a few errands lately trying to make sure everything is good before transfers. Elder Rich and I have set a bunch of goals and deadlines for the zone this transfer and pretty soon here it seems like everyone is going to just about make it. It's really good to see the progress of all the areas and missionaries as well as the great people in our own proselyting area. I'm grateful for everyone's support and I hope everyone's year has started out great! I'm loving it here in New Zealand and look forward to what's next. I hope everyone has a good week! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 17

Here in New Zealand, things are well. The work in Te Awamutu has exploded lately and been doing really well. We have 4 people we are successfully teaching the discussions to. To put that in perspective, I was teaching 2 people he discussions the entire time I spent in Manurewa. We had 3 of them come to church yesterday so it was real good! They seem to be progressing quite well! We had our big zone conference with Elder Nattress and it went quite well I think. Our role play went well and we got some good compliments and a lot of laughs. We later on had to participate in a sort of activity that Elder Nattress had us do and divided us into our individual zones. So I gathered all the Elders and Sisters in our zone to one side of the chapel and stood in the middle of them leading a sort of discussion. It was pretty nerve wracking because there's about 40 missionaries all looking at me and waiting for me to give them the floor. Trying to give everyone an opportunity to speak their ideas and mold them all together was really hard especially in the short 7 minutes we had. I was hoping my companion would stand next to me but he kind of sat down and gave me the "good luck bro" look. It was stressful but I think it turned out alright. The other zone went first and while they were doing it, Elder Nattress sat next to me and told me what he wanted out of our zone that the other one wasn't doing and I had to somehow tell everyone else without making too much noise. It turned out good though so we're alright. That's me for now. Have a great week!